May 14, 2017
The Vanderbilt men’s golf team will tee it up as the number one seed in the College Grove, Tenn., Regional this Monday through Wednesday at The Grove in College Grove, Tenn., in their quest for a fourth consecutive appearance at the NCAA Championship. The Commodores will compete against 12 other teams in the regional hosted by Middle Tennessee State University.
The #1-seed Commodores will compete with #2 Texas Tech, #3 Clemson, #4 Georgia, #5 Missouri, #6 Lipscomb, #7 Kennesaw State, #8 UCF, #9 Middle Tennessee, #10 TCU, #11 Troy, #12 East Tennessee State, and #13 Harvard. Individuals include Andrew Novak of Wofford, Patrick Cover and Thomas Eldridge of UNC-Wilmington, Tim Conover of East Carolina, Lorenzo Scalise of Tennessee, Hunter Richardson of UT-Martin, Seth Gandy of UNC-Charlotte, Jack Lang of Davidson, Anton Frondelius of Wagner, and Daniel Racioppa of Alcorn State. The top five teams and top individual not on those teams will advance to the Rich Harvest Farms Golf Club in Sugar Grove, Ill., May 26-May 31.
Competing for Vanderbilt this week will be senior Matthias Schwab, junior Theo Humphrey, sophomores Will Gordon and Patrick Martin, and freshman John Augenstein.
“This is certainly the most exciting time of year as the NCAA tournament is here,” said Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh. “We want our guys to be excited about the opportunity we have in front of us. However, we also understand we have to have the right kind of focus on the right kind of things if we want to be successful. Nothing has changed about us, we are the same group with the same players and we know that we have to continue to earn the right to be the best team that we can be. We have to embrace the climb and focus on what we have to do to play our best golf. Each step on the journey prepares you for your next opportunity. It’s time for us to trust our process and go have some fun now.”
Thirteen teams were selected to three regional sites and 14 were selected in three others, with the top five teams from each regional advancing to the NCAA Championship. Additionally, the top individual not affiliated with a qualifying team in the six regionals will also advance to the finals at Rich Harvest Farms.
“The Grove is a really good golf course and a really good test,” said Limbaugh. “This will be another fun and unique opportunity for us to play in front of our fans at this Regional. We are certainly hopeful that our fans get a chance to come support the boys.”
Notes heading into College Grove Regional
Limbaugh in fifth season
Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh, who is in his fifth season with the Commodores, has led Vanderbilt to 12 team titles in his tenure, with the Commodores capturing two titles this season – at the Nike Golf Collegiate and the SEC Championship – and finishing runner-up at the Tavistock Collegate. The Commodores also won the stroke-play portion of the East Lake Cup in Atlanta, Ga., to close out the fall season.
Limbaugh has the Commodores in their fifth consecutive regional, a program first, and has led the team to three consecutive NCAA Championship appearances. The Commodores have finished second and fourth, respectively, in the last two NCAA Championships in stroke play and have advanced to match play in each of the seasons. Limbaugh was named as one of five finalists for the Dave Williams Collegiate Coach of the Year in 2015, in 2016, was named the GCAA Southeast Region Coach of the Year, and was recently named the 2017 SEC Coach of the Year, the first award won by a Vanderbilt men’s golf coach.
All-SEC
The Southeastern Conference handed out their all-conference hardware earlier this month, and the Commodores were front and center in the selections honoring the best in the league in 2016-17. Vanderbilt head coach Scott Limbaugh won the program’s first SEC Coach of the Year honor and freshman John Augenstein was named the league’s Freshman of the Year, while Patrick Martin and Matthias Schwab were named to the All-SEC First Team and Theo Humphrey was named to the All-SEC Second Team for their accolades this season.
All-Americans
Matthias Schwab became the third Commodore to be honored as a first-team All-American by the Golf Coaches Association of America in 2016, joining Hunter Stewart in 2015 and Brandt Snedeker in 2004. Additionally, two of the five Freshmen All-Americans in 2016 were Commodores – Will Gordon and Patrick Martin. Gordon and Martin became the program’s first freshmen All-Americans. Gordon was also named a third-team All-Americans in 2016, while Martin was an honorable mention selection.
Golfstat Rankings
Vanderbilt spent a majority of the season ranked number one in the latest Golfstat.com poll, the first time in the history of the program the Commodores had reached the top spot in the Golfstat rankings. Currently, the Commodores are second behind Southern California.
Individually, Martin is ranked 15th, Schwab 20th, and Humphrey 38th in the nation according to Golfstat.
Schwab closing career strong
Senior Matthias Schwab from Rohrmoos, Austria, is considered one of the top collegiate golfers in the nation, and his play this season has certainly reflected that idea. Schwab has finished in the top 12 in seven of eight tournaments he has played this year, with his best finish coming as a runner-up finish at the Tavistock Collegiate. For his career, the senior from Rohrmoos, Austria, now has 11 top-five finishes and 16 top-10 finishes.
Earlier this spring, Schwab took part in the Arnold Palmer Invitational with the Arnold Palmer exemption, an award voted on by his peers at the 2016 Palmer Cup which is given to the player that best represents “the `Arnold Palmer Legacy'”. Schwab missed the cut by three shots at the event, which was held March 16-19 at Bay Hill.
In Schwab’s four-year career, he is an astonishing 85.9% against opponents.
Vanderbilt wins SEC Championship
The Commodores won their first SEC Championship April 21-24 in Sea Island, Ga., after claiming three 3-2 victories in match play over Ole Miss, Florida, and Texas A&M, respectively, to close out the victory. Vanderbilt also won the stroke-play portion of the tournament, carding a three-round score of 11-under par, 829 (276-281-272), defeating second-place Texas A&M by six shots. Sophomore Patrick Martin finished second in the individual standings after losing to Florida’s Alejandro Tosti on the second playoff hole.
Vanderbilt captured their first SEC Championship in 52 years of appearances at the championship. The Commodores’ previous-best finish was tied for second in 2015.
Career leaders currently on course for Dores
Four Commodores currently competing on the course are the four of the top career scorers in program history. Sophomore Patrick Martin is first with a 70.54 stroke average in 59 stroke-play rounds played, with Matthias Schwab second a 70.74 stroke average in 101 total rounds. Sophomore Will Gordon is third at 71.42 (59 rounds), and junior Theo Humphrey is fourth at 71.44 strokes per round in 90 total rounds. Current PGA Tour member Jon Curran, who played from 2005-09 is fifth with a 71.56 stroke average, and PGA star Brandt Snedeker, who recently went 3-0 at the 2016 Ryder Cup, is sixth with a 71.77 career average. Snedeker played for Vanderbilt from 2000-2004.
Augenstein fitting in
Freshman John Augenstein, from Owensboro, Ky., is already fitting in nicely with his more veteran teammates this year. Augenstein has tied Matthias Schwab and Theo Humphrey for the lowest round of the season with a 66 in the first round of the Nike Golf Collegiate at Colonial Country Club, while also posting a career-best fifth-place finish at the tournament. He also carded a top 20 (T-17) finish at the Tavistock Collegiate.
In the final two matches at the SEC Championship, Augenstein clinched both matches against Florida and Texas A&M.
Balanced Effort
Combined among the five starters, Vanderbilt has had one individual champion (Patrick Martin at Schenkel Invitational), 12 total top fives, and 20 top 10’s.
As a team, Vanderbilt has finished in the top four in all but one tournament this season.
Dores not afraid to go low
In 2016-17, the Commodores have counted 37 rounds in the 60’s on reknown courses – Pebble Beach Golf Links, Colonial Country Club, Isleworth Country Club, East Lake Golf Club, Seaside Golf Club, and the Golf Club of Houston to name a few of the courses.
Humphrey, Martin, and Schwab named Nicklaus Award Semifinalists
Theo Humphrey, Patrick Martin, and Matthias Schwab have been named three of 30 semifinalists for the Jack Nicklaus Award, which is given to the top collegiate Division 1 golfer. Division I finalists for the award will be named May 25. Nicklaus Award recipients will be announced June 1 with the honor presented by Jack Nicklaus at a ceremony during the final round of the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide at Muirfield Village Golf Club. In addition to receiving the Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year Award, the five recipients will compete in the Barbasol Shootout for an exemption into the PGA TOUR’s Barbasol Championship, held July 20-23, at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail at Grand National in Opelika, Ala. The Barbasol Shootout will be held Saturday, June 3 at the storied Scioto Country Club in Columbus, Ohio – the same club where Jack Nicklaus first learned the game of golf as a young boy.
2016 NCAA Championship
The Commodores finished in a tie for fourth with USC in stroke play, and fell to the Trojans in quarterfinal action on the first day of match play. Individually, Matthias Schwab led the way, finishing in a tie for third.
